One of Lang, Richert & Patch’s senior trial attorneys, William T. McLaughlin II, will be a moderator at program entitled “Civil Court Judicial Forum: Advanced Discovery and Trial Practice.” The forum panel will consist of a number of sitting judges from the Fresno County Superior Court. Mr. McLaughlin has served as the moderator for this forum for the past three years. The forum will cover a broad range of topics including recent developments in state evidentiary law, expert evidence, getting your evidence admitted at trial, and using technology in the courtroom.

Mr. McLaughlin is a Board Certified Civil Trial Advocate and has successfully tried over 50 jury trials. He has received the highest peer review rating (AV) and, for the past 6 years, he has been voted a Northern California ‘Super Lawyer’ (representing the top 5% of lawyers in Northern California). He is Charter Fellow Member of The Litigation Counsel of America and was Past-President/ Board Member of the San Joaquin Chapter of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers (ABTL).

On July 13 more than 350 attorneys, judges, law students, business, and community leaders were on hand when California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye presented Ana de Alba with an award for her tireless work to promote pro-bono in the Central Valley. Ms. de Alba was one of two attorneys state-wide to be recognized at this event.

Ms. de Alba’s acceptance comments brought tears to the eyes of many as she talked about her experiences as the daughter of immigrant farm workers in the Central Valley to explain why she is so passionate about pro-bono. The award was from OneJustice (formerly Public Interest Clearinghouse) and was presented at the organization’s annual Opening Doors to Justice reception in San Francisco. OneJustice provides support to legal services organizations and law students engaged in pro-bono. Its mission is to increase access to legal help for underserved Californians by building infrastructure and partnerships in the legal community.

Ms. de Alba has been an associate at Lang, Richert & Patch since 2007 and works primarily in the area of employment law.

Lang, Richert & Patch employees and family members volunteered their time at the Fresno Community Food Bank on November 20, 2010 to assist the Community Food Bank in reaching its goal of making 40,000 Holiday Meal Boxes for those in need this holiday season.

The employees and their family members joined other Fresno County Bar Association members in supporting the Fresno County Young Lawyer’s Second Annual Fresno Community Food Bank Volunteer Day. The event was a huge success with many volunteers donating their time to help pack boxes of food for those in need. The meal boxes will feed about 40,000 Fresno, Madera and Kings County families throughout the holiday season.

Lang, Richert & Patch continues to demonstrate its commitment to supporting the Fresno community and the Central Valley through volunteer opportunities and sponsorships.

Lang, Richert and Patch helping at the Food Bank for the holidays

In 1989, the California State Bar established the Wiley W. Manuel Award for Pro Bono Legal Services. The award was established to honor the memory of Honorable Wiley W. Manuel, a distinguished Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court from 1977 until his death in 1981. The award is presented to attorneys who provide a minimum of 50 hours in pro bono services in one year. Ana de Alba was bestowed this honor at the Central California Legal Services’ 2010 Champions of Justice Fall Reception on Thursday, October 28, 2010, for providing a minimum of 50 hours in voluntary legal services to the poor.

Managing Partner and Construction Attorney, Mark L. Creede, Employment Law Specialist, Charles T. Taylor, and Commercial and Business Transactions Attorney, Victoria J. Salisch provided voluntary legal services to our local veterans at this year’s Central Valley Veterans Stand Down which took place September 22nd through 24th. The purpose of Operation Stand Down is to assist disadvantaged veterans who are having difficult times. The goal is to assist veterans who are homeless turn their lives around and to thank them for all of the service they have provided to this country. Being the son of a World War II Battle of the Bulge survivor, Purple Heart recipient, and prisoner of war, Mark Creede has a special interest in helping veterans. “Charles, Victoria, and I felt privileged to be able to assist veterans in need, and we and other members of our firm look forward to participating in future Veterans Stand Downs,” Mr. Creede noted. Lang, Richert & Patch is grateful for those who served and was honored to be part of such an important event. Thanks in part to their help, over 80 veterans received advice and counsel regarding various legal issues including housing (eviction defense), general civil litigation, family law, estate planning, public benefits, tax , health, and employment law.

On October 6, 2010,  California Supreme Court Chief Justice, Ronald George, launched the Central Valley Pro Bono Challenge. The Challenge is a collaboration between Central California Legal Services (“CCLS”), Public Interest Clearinghouse (“PIC”), and Pro Bono Net. Ana de Alba, Pro Bono Coordinator at Lang, Richert & Patch, worked closely with CCLS and PIC in an effort to implement the Challenge which encourages participating attorneys and firms to provide anywhere from 10 to 50 pro bono service hours to CCLS on an annual basis. As part of the Challenge, attorneys are provided a broad range of pro bono opportunities, training, and supervision and free liability and professional malpractice insurance for pro bono services rendered through CCLS.

As the provision of pro bono services is important to Lang, Richert & Patch, it was the first firm in Fresno to sign on to the Challenge and has agreed to provide in the aggregate over 200 pro bono hours in 2011. Lang, Richert and Patch’s commitment to pro bono was recently recognized at the October Fresno County Bar Association luncheon by Chris Schneider, Director of CCLS, and California Supreme Court Chief Justice, Ronald George.

Pictured back row from left to right are Mark L. Creede, Jay M. Kelly, Scott J. Ivy, Val Saldana, Ana de Alba; front row from left to right are California Supreme Court Justice Marvin Baxter, Frank H. Lang, California Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald George, and Erica Gonzalez. Photo by Howard Watkins.

Ana de Alba has joined the newly formed State Bar of California Pro Bono Coordinating Committee (“PBCC”). PBCC is a joint project of the California Commission on Access to Justice and the State Bar Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services. PBCC’s mission is to encourage, facilitate, and coordinate pro bono efforts throughout the state by: developing and maintaining communications between PBCC and other pro bono related entities; providing a forum for identifying gaps in, and barriers to, pro bono participation; creating informational, advisory, and/or working groups on pro bono issues and projects as necessary; and coordinating and advising on the State Bar’s pro bono efforts.

The California Chamber of Commerce honored five small business executives yesterday with its “2009 Small Business Advocate of the Year” award, recognizing recipients for their advocacy efforts on behalf of small businesses.

The CalChamber presented the awards at a luncheon before more than 400 attendees at the CalChamber Business Summit in Sacramento.

2009 Winners (left to right:) Mark Waronek, Victoria Salisch, Dave Penry, Lou Monville. Not pictured Cynthia Schnieder

2009 Small Business Advocate of the Year Award recipients are:
• Victoria Salisch, Partner, Lang, Richert & Patch, Attorneys at Law, Fresno
• Lou Monville, Vice President, O’Reilly Public Relations, Riverside
• Dave Penry, Owner, Pacific Landscapes, Santa Rosa
• Cynthia Schneider, Senior Vice President, American Security Bank, Corona
• Mark Waronek, Owner, Waronek and Associates, Torrance

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